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Show Avalanches occurred in many areas which d i d not u s u a l l y s l i d e . One large s l i d e was c l e a r l y v i s i b l e on Shuksan Arm, beyond the c o n t r o l l e d ski area. Conditions were so hazardous t h a t no attempt was made t o c o n t r o l Shuksan' Arm w i t h the 75 mm mounted on Panorama Dome. This area, not served by l i f t s , was a c c o r d i n g l y posted as c l o s e d. ACCIDENT SUMMARY In the v a l l e y , a p a r t y of s i x Canadian A l p i n e Club members from Vancouver, B. C. a r r i v e d at the Razorhone Creek b r i d g e at 10: 45 a. m. t o begin t h e ir planned climb t o the top of Shuksan Arm. All were experienced s k i e r s; several had made t h i s t r i p b e f o r e . The leader of the p a r t y , J . S . , was an experienced Canadian mountain climber and s k i e r . As they climbed higher and onto the upper slopes of Shuksan Arm, they could see the same slab avalanche t h a t was v i s i b l e from Panorama Dome. Undaunted, they continued up the slope. Coming t o a small bench area, P. N. took the lead to r e l i e ve the t r a i l breaker, and t h e rest f o l l o w e d , f a i r l y close together. At 1: 45 p. m., a f t e r the group had climbed about 1700 f e e t , one of the party saw a slab release j u s t above them. She shouted a warning to the r e s t , but, badly f r i g h t e n e d , she l o s t her balance and f e l l . The s l i d e was nearly f i f ty feet wide. It s p i l l e d one hundred and f i f t y feet down the slope, burying a l l but two members of the p a r t y . One was knocked down in the s l i d e area, but remained on t h e s u r f a c e , w h i l e B. S. skied t o s a f e t y o f f the deposition area. RESCUE Three of the skiers were buried waist deep, but P. N. was completely covered. Those only partially covered were frightened but able to dig themselves out. Several minutes later they realized P. N. was still missing and probed for him unsuccessfully with ski poles for nearly an hour. J. S., the tour leader, then sent two of the survivors down to the highway to report the accident to the Forest Service. She and the two others remained to continue searching. By 4: 30, when there was still no trace of P. N., J. S. gave up the search. As skiing conditions were very bad, she had to get the other skiers off the mountain before dark. At 4: 35 p. m., one of the survivors sent out earlier in the afternoon reported the accident to Assistant Snow Ranger J. A. in the near- by Ski Area. At 4: 45, after picking up all necessary rescue equipment from a cache at the lift terminal, a party of two rangers ( trained avalanche experts) and four ski patrolmen left on the hasty search. A main party of twenty- one people left the area at 5: 00 p. m. Both parties attempted to reach the avalanche from Panorama dome. They were forced to abandon that route when the snow ranger in the lead party radioed that extreme avalanche hazards made it impossible to get out on the slope. The entire party returned to the lodge and left for the Razorhone Creek Bridge to approach the slide along the same route the tour party used. An over- snow vehicle broke out a track one- third the distance up the Arm. This proved a major aid in the rescue effort. A reorganized lead party of nine ski school instructors and rangers, and tour leader J. S., arrived 133 |
